


Great escape. Great rescue.

by skratchmarkz



Category: Hermitcraft, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft Evolution (Web Series)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hermitcraft - Freeform, Loneliness, Magic, Minecraft Evolution - Freeform, Neglect, Pranks, Secret Identity, Secrets, Temporary Character Death, The Watchers - Freeform, The tags make it sound edgy but I promise it’s not really!, Watcher Grian, Wholesome Time, World Travel, minecraft personas, the Watchers aren’t necessarily the bad guys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21863470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skratchmarkz/pseuds/skratchmarkz
Summary: Grian didn’t have a choice in joining the Watchers.It was either join them and never see his friends again or stay and his world would fall into disrepair. He chose the former, and while Evo is safe and sound, he is incredibly lonely.Studying the Watchers magic is just about the only thing that keeps him entertained these days but when he’s invited to Hermitcraft how can he refuse such a tempting offer?!Now he just has to make sure the Watchers never find him. Easy peasy!.... right?
Comments: 23
Kudos: 252





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one is going to be a short one. Unlike my other works I highly doubt this is going to have any kind of slow burn kind of thing going on and I plan to have the whole thing completed by the time my Christmas vacation is over. 
> 
> I’m actually really enjoying Hermitcraft right now and with the end of season 6 looking like it’s in sight I figured it might be time to write out an idea I’ve had in my head for a while. 
> 
> Hopefully you guys enjoy it!

When the first invite came Grian panicked. He shut off his communicator and hid it for a week. Certain, at that point, that he had been caught. He walked on eggshells around the Watchers every second they spent with him afterwards, using nervous excuses of feeling tired to hide his anxiety. Thankfully it seemed they hadn’t caught on. Either that or they were looking the other way; he wasn’t sure which one he was more afraid of.

When he finally got the courage to turn the device back on he was treated to a barrage of worried messages which he quickly responded to with an awkward apology. Xisuma had been a good friend to him for a while and leaving him in the dark like that made him feel awfully guilty. 

Grian first started talking to Xisuma a few months after joining the Watchers. 

Leaving Evo had made him incredibly sad but it was the only way to make sure that his friends would be safe and for the world to keep moving forward. If he stayed he would only be hindering their progress. He was happy for them even if he didn’t get to say goodbye and the watchers allowed him to see them from time to time when their powers weren’t being used for more essential activities. 

Still the loneliness was hard to ignore. Grian had always been a very sociable person. Always thinking about how to spend time around others when he wasn’t already glued to their side. It didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy spending time alone, he could happily work on his own with no problems, but going from seeing at least someone once a day to going days on end with no one to talk to crushed him a little.

The Watchers wouldn’t allow him to build anywhere yet either, they told him he was too young and that it would take a long time for his powers to manifest safely. As it was, he would only endanger the people living in the worlds below if he were to try and make a structure. They saw how his face fell at this and gently told him that they would do their best to help him master his new abilities whenever they had a free moment. In theory a thoughtful promise, however the Watchers were always busy and never had free moments. So Grian took it upon himself to learn.

One good thing about the Watchers was their thirst for knowledge. At the height of their powers, the capabilities of their memories was immense and omnivident. Yet they still saw the luxury and the importance of storing their knowledge in books. As such the Watchers’s library could span across an infinite world. It was here that Grian began his study. 

He started simple. Or as simple as he could find anyway. Levitation was apparently capable with only a little bit of concentration but after a good 40 minutes the only thing Grian managed to do was give himself a migraine. Still he wouldn’t give up that easily!

He tried telepathy by trying to read the Watcher’s thoughts but only succeeded in knocking himself unconscious. Apparently he took the world's greatest nap for an hour and a half before reawakening. Watcher 1, or Olive as Grian had been calling them, hadn’t stopped laughing at him for hours.

Next he tried super strength and instead gave himself super back ache when he tried to lift an Enderchest without shrinking it first.

He tried making portals, and watching mirrors. He tried making himself invisible, and changing his form. He tried bending water and fire. He even tried useless things like making plants grow slightly faster or changing their colours. Nothing seemed to work.

Grian was on his last book when Olive finally came to help.

“What are you reading little one?” They asked gently looking over his shoulder.

“A spell.” Grian replied with a sigh, he pushed the book from under his arms so that the Elder Watcher could see.

“Flight huh? That’s a hard one.” Grian groaned at this.

“Is it really hard? I’ve tried everything else I can find. Nothing works! I just want to get one spell right!”

“Oh come now,” Olive hushed sympathetically, “you’ll get it eventually, you just need to give it time. I didn’t develop my powers properly till my fourth millennia.”

“Fourth Millennia?” Grian shreeked. “I can’t wait that long! I can’t even imagine living for one millennia!” 

Olive chuckled, “I didn’t think I could either, but I survived and so will you.” Grian deflated, he would be lonely and stuck like this forever. “I tell you what, why don’t I give you a quick lesson before The big bad Watcher catches me slacking off?”

“You’d really teach me?!”

“Of course I will.” Olive said with a smile.

“Thank you Olive! Thank you so much!” Grian grinned, excited at the prospect of getting some pointers.

They weren’t able to cover much ground before Watcher 2, or Teal as Grian called them, berated Olive for leaving their duties unattended. But even still, their time together gave Grian a sense of confidence he hadn’t had before. He went back to his study with motivation and purpose. 

Months later, after mastering the basics, Grian found an untitled spell. It was scribbled down in messy handwriting on a loose sheet of paper; unlovingly tossed between the pages of a large spellbook. At first Grian had thought it to be a bookmark and hadn’t paid it much mind, but after picking it up he found his interest peaked. 

It seemed fairly simple. Odd but not necessarily hard. Grian didn’t recognise a lot of the words, nor did he recognise the handwriting but his fingers twitched to cast it. Surely, at the very least, he should find out what it does so that he can title it. If it was really dangerous Olive and Teal wouldn’t have given him access to it, so it should be fine, right?

Grian shrugged and cleared a space on the floor so that he had room to sit and concentrate. He read over the note once more before attempting to channel the pool of magical energy stored within his body. 

The spell called for him to think of a place he felt at home. At first he thought of Evo, he thought of his friends and his empire. He thought about his home and that’s where everything seemed to go wrong. Evo was home for him but now so was the Watchers facility. He wanted to be at home in both places, he wanted to be somewhere he belonged, somewhere he could explore and create, somewhere he could make friends and talk to people, somewhere he wouldn’t be lonely when Olive and Teal were busy.

The spell was already too far gone for him to fix his train of thought so he thought about the bare necessities of what was home for him. Wide open landscapes, wind and fresh air, people and friends, community, content coziness…

Grian felt the magic within him stir, becoming more and more powerful. He had made a mistake.

This spell may have been simple but it was taking up a lot of his energy, and he couldn’t stop! The spell wouldn’t let him. The power built up, becoming harsh and threatening to spill over. Grin held onto control for as long as he could before he finally lost his grip. The magic snapped from his grasp and launched him backwards into the nearest wall. 

Grian hit his head when he collided with the brick and his vision went funny for a little while afterwards. When he finally came back to reality he was able to assess the damage the spell had caused. 

The few torches he had set up to give him light while he worked had been blown out. Objects on his shelves had been knocked over and papers on his desk had been blown around the room, they now looked crumpled and rather sad.

But the most notable thing was the pure, uncluttered circle in the middle of his room.

Everything else had been disturbed in the chaos but this circle was completely void of the papers and general mess everywhere else had. And right in the middle, sitting innocently, was a small device. Black and rectangular. It looked like it was made out of some kind of super smooth obsidian and fit perfectly into the palm of Grian’s hand. 

The second he touched it, it lit up and he flinched back like he had been burned. 

The device glowed blue through small cracks hidden behind a smooth exterior and a small blue screen projected itself upwards like a hologram. 

“NAME:” The text on screen read.

Cautiously Grian crawled towards the hologram and gently reached out. When his fingers gently brushed against the screen an additional keyboard made of light projected from the device.

Grian glanced over his shoulder to check that he was still alone before pressing each of the keys that made up his name.

“NAME: GRIAN.” 

A pause.

“CONFIRMED. WELCOME _GRIAN_.”

Another pause as a dot began to spin in a circle in the centre of the screen.

“ _GRIAN_ JOINED THE SERVER.”

As soon as the message displayed itself new text began to appear. All different colours with different names hemming the beginning. Each sentence showcased confusion and a fair few questions. Grian’s eyes widened as he realised these were people. People were sending messages through the hologram, and the keyboard still lay in front of him, maybe he could send messages back?

A few moments of messaging back and forth found Grian talking to someone new for the first time in what felt like forever. This person introduced themselves as Xisuma and the rest is history.

Now almost a year later Grian finds his hands trembling and his heart in his throat as Xisuma invites him once more to join himself and the ‘Hermits’, as the rest of the people under Xisuma’s care call themselves.

Grian isn’t even sure how it’s possible but these people live independently from the Watchers help. Travelling between worlds on a whim and pushing forward through updates from sheer force of will. It’s his dream. Constant updates, friendly community, independent and collaborative building, wide open worlds ripe for exploring. Grian’s fingers hover over the keys. His hands and heart ache with wanting.

He knows that if he doesn’t accept this time around Xisuma probably won’t ask again. It’s now or never.

He can decline and grow to be a Watcher. Sitting in a chair and messing with the worlds below until the end of time. Writing poems and riddles. Never really talking to anyone or living his life the way he thinks he should lead it.

Or he can accept and sneak away. He can join the Hermits and help to hide their world from the Watchers view. He could have friends again; be a part of a loving community; he could build again too! He’d have to hide his magic and the weird characteristics that tell the world he’s a Watcher, but if it means he gains the freedom and the happiness he desires then it’s a trade he’s willing to make.

Grian tries not to think about Olive and Teal as he types out his acceptance and excitement.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Grian was starting to regret refusing Xisuma’s offer of transport. Never before in his life had he been this nervous!

Tip toeing as quietly as he could towards Teal’s portal gallery. It was the one place within the Watchers facility he would be able to leave undetected. Hopefully anyway.

A few days ago Grian had finally accepted the offer of joining the Hermits. Apparently they were finally ready to move onto a new world, and Xisuma thought it to be an opportune time for him to meet both the rest of the Hermits and himself.

Apparently they were going to travel by portal.

Xisuma told him he’d been conserving energy months prior to the move. Creating a portal that was going to span across a mass of empty space as well as transport a good 23 people across would take a lot out of him, but it had to be done nonetheless.  
Xisuma wanted to keep the Hermits happy, and resources would slowly fizzle into rarity towards the end of, what they called, seasons anyway. Teleporting the group to new worlds was the best way to ensure their survival.

He’d offered to make a portal for Grian too. His suggestion was to use the remainder of his energy to transport the newest Hermit across whatever distance to make sure he made it safely to the new world. He just needed the code.

At first Grian was confused by this. What was the ‘code’?

Xisuma explained that it was just how he figured out which world was which.

Each existing world has its own individual code that lets him know if they had been there before. Making note of these codes allowed him to make accurate portals between places because they allowed him to pinpoint specific locations.

‘Seeds’ Grian reasoned. Xisuma was talking about Seeds. The Watchers used world seeds for exactly the same purpose. World seeds labelled each world correctly and allowed for some form of simple organisation.

The second he realised this was the second he denied Xisuma’s help. There was no way he could allow his friend any kind of access to the Watchers facility. At minimum it would inform his new friend of what he was and at worst it would prompt Teal and Olive into doing to the Hermits what they did to Evo.

So Grian informed Xisuma that it wouldn’t be necessary. He already had means for getting to their new world, and, with a bit of prompting, was able to gain the world seed of his, soon to be, new home.

Technically Grian hadn’t been lying. He really did have means of travelling by portal, it’s just unfortunate that gaining access led him to this point now. Shuffling along polished bedrock floors in socks just so that the noise of his footsteps wouldn’t echo around the walls.

Teal’s portal gallery was terrifying!

It was a big, terrifying, hall filled to the brim with glowing purple portals. The whooshing sound of each, echoed eerily.

Like the library, this gallery seemed to be infinite. Each portal led to a new world with the seeds for each carved patiently into the obsidian frame.

Lighting was minimal and ineffective, neither Teal nor Olive seeing the need for anything extravagant given how their own aetherial bodies glowed from the pool of magic stored under their skin. Grian, however was still young, his own magic wasn’t strong enough yet to be physically visible so he had to resort to squinting through the darkness and feeling up the sides of each portal for the correct seed.  
He prayed that when he found the right one, it truly was correct and that it wouldn’t just spit him out somewhere random he could never return from.

He hadn’t taken much with him; only what he could fit inside his pockets and a compact Rucksack. It was the same one he had used back in Evo and he knew it would continue to hold up for a long time after he joined the Hermits. The only problem was that it was highly limited. He couldn’t fit any of the books from the library inside it nor would be want to risk taking them anyway. The less he took with him the more time it would grant him to hide from the Watchers. So instead he settled for bare essentials.

He took with him enough food and water to last roughly 4 days. Just long enough to get settled in the new world with a way to grow and hunt food on his own. As well as this he also took along a spare set of clothes and a compact sewing kit. His casual shirt and trousers were good for most weather conditions but dragging along a thick woollen jumper couldn’t exactly hurt. Grian was certain it would come in handy at some point anyway so he was willing to sacrifice space in his bag to carry the thing.

Lastly came his communicator. He stashed the obsidian device safely within his right pocket. That way he would be able to feel where it was at all times. Apart from that he left his room at the Watchers facility exactly as it was. Not a dust particle out of place.

Sometimes Olive and Teal would go weeks without coming to look for him so with luck it would be a while before they noticed he was gone. Teal might feel a disturbance within their portals but by the time they pinpoint the reason why he would already be long gone and the trail of his route would be faded. If luck was on his side Grian would be able to fade from their sight forever. He just had to make it to the right portal.

It was coming up on his 4th hour of looking when Grian finally felt the correct code. His eyes widened in surprise and he ran his hands over the carving once more just to check that he wasn’t mistaken. No, this was the right one! 10 carved digits carefully engraved into the side of the portal.

Grian took a careful step back and fished into his pocket for the communicator.

Xisuma said the move would take a while but that they should reach the new world just a few hours before sunset. He was unfortunately a bit late but it was better to be late than to not come at all. Grian’s fingers twitched and trembled with nerves and adrenaline.

If he walked through here it would be next to impossible for him to come back. He’d be leaving the Watchers behind him. He’d have to hide his magic and have to make up some kind of a backstory for himself. No doubt there would be questions about how he managed to obtain a communicator that linked with the other Hermits. Maybe he should just stay after all…. Olive and Teal would be furious with him if he really left.

That thought alone made Grian freeze. There was a chance they would punish Evo. He hadn’t checked on it in a while. Both elder Watchers were too busy to allow him use of their powers like that, but he was sure they were doing fine. After all, the deal was, if Grian left their world would be kept safe.

But if Grian left the Watchers… there would be nothing stopping them from backing out on their deal. They could harm his friends, they could destroy their world, they could flood it, or burn it. They could entrap each of his friends in bedrock. They wouldn’t be able to get out and they would perish over and over and over again.

Grian bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The sting of the small injury brought him from the long and winding trail that was his thoughts. Now that he was thinking about this critically there was so many things that could go wrong with his plan. Was he truly being selfish here?

He lifted his sleeve to his mouth and gently dabbed at the cut. It came away with a magenta stain. At first the physical changes to his body had freaked him out but now, after a long adjustment period, he was slightly more used to seeing his more prominent Watcher features come to light.

Wait a second.

Moments before he hadn’t been able to see his own hand in front of his face. Now he could make out colours and features. He could see the seams on his shirt and the faint outline of the portal’s bumpy obsidian frame. Grian’s eyes widened and he quickly spun around. He made eye contact with the glowing eyes of Olive.

He couldn’t help but notice how their expression twisted into one of confusion and betrayal. They knew what he was here for but they didn’t quite want to believe it. Part of them wanted to believe that he was here out of curiosity. That he just wanted to see the portals, not leave through them.

Grian watched their hands twitch in anticipation, they took a cautious step in his direction.

“G…. Grian?...”

He bolted.

Gripping his communicator as hard as he could, he didn’t think twice before launching himself through the portal.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

Travelling by portal was almost instantaneous. It took a few seconds between entering and exiting to get where you needed to go and the feeling of travelling between these two parts was one of unfathomable Vertigo. 

Grian would never admit to the dizzy shriek he made when the portal he jumped through in Teal’s gallery led him to an exit that was 6 ft off the ground. He fell fast and collapsed onto the soft grass below with a pained ‘oof!’. 

He coughed and sputtered desperately for a few long moments; closing his eyes and wincing at how bright the light was; before the horror was finally over.

Grian took a gentle breath. It tasted fresh and new on his tongue. Cold on the back of his throat but it didn’t sting like it would have if it was mid winter. It was the kind of cold you got in late spring, the soothing kind that fluttered into your lungs on a welcome breeze. 

His lips twitched into a smile. Eyes finally opening to find a wide expanse of bright blue sky. Quiet clouds lazily floated along the wind turning the sky into a patchwork of soft shapes. He’d never seen anything so wonderful. Not even Evo had anything so subtle with its beauty. How many updates had he been missing for? Too many apparently.

Grian felt his tongue gently dab over the cut on his lip. And probably many more after this. Olive had seen him run through that portal. And they were bound to tell Teal about it if they didn’t just come and get him themselves. 

A worried frown creased his brow and he gently twisted the green grass between his fingers. If he was lucky he estimated a time between 5 days and a month before both watchers came to collect him. He was in trouble but they were also busy. They couldn’t just up and leave whenever something stupid happened outside their work. It took preparation and planning for them to do something else, even if it was pressing. 

Grain weighed up his options.

He couldn’t exactly go back and apologise, make an excuse about being startled or something. Watcher portals were one way. Once you go through them they spit you out somewhere random and then disappear, leaving no trace of it ever having been there or the linking portal it connects to. You have to have the power to make custom portals to get you back to where you came from. 

It seemed like the only thing he could really do was wait. He was bound to be locked in his room for the next millennia once Teal came for him, so why not enjoy his time? He could make friends with the Hermits and act out his life as if it was normal for a while. 

Maybe a week of pretending to be normal was better than never having had the chance in the first place? 

Maybe he could be here long enough that the Hermits would move worlds again? He could go with them and hide? Okay, maybe that was a little too hopeful. But making friends and forgetting about all the Watcher stuff for a week does sound pretty nice actually.

Grian sat up and picked up his bag. It had slipped from his shoulders during the fall and had miraculously survived the whole portal ordeal. Still intact and everything. He pulled the Red Jumped from its confines and slipped it over his head. The light chill in the air was suddenly significantly less sharp. He knew this thing would come in handy. Now for the next task - finding the Hermits.

He was already late so it was a pretty safe bet that they had already come through Xisuma’s portal. He just had to follow the sound of laughter? Or maybe just normal crowd talking? He wasn’t sure. It had been so long since he had been around a group of people this big! So exciting but also so terrifying. 

Would they like him? Maybe? Probably? Xisuma wouldn’t invite him unless he liked him right. But did that extend to the rest of them? Wait, was Xisuma one of those “I do what I want and you all obey!” Leaders or was there a voting system or something? Xisuma didn’t seem like the dictator type but you never know. 

Oh god! What if it had all been a joke and he turns up and they’re all like- “why are you here? Haha did you actually think we wanted you? We don’t even know you? Ughhh get out of our sight!1!! We ban you from talking to us or being near us!” No, that’s silly Grian. Don’t panic. DON’T PANIC! It will all be fine! They want you here! You can build and be useful in some aspects. Sure, everything’s pretty new here but you’ve always been a fast learner. Just don’t overthink it or you’ll come off as weird. Just act as human and as normal as you can. Easy! …. hopefully… 

Grian panted a little as he jogged up a particularly steep hill. His left hand came up to grip an oak branch. Steadying himself as he hoisted the rest of his body up to the top. Maybe he should have kept up with his exercise a little better in the Watcher’s facility? He was totally building a railway as soon as possible. No way was he running around everywhere like on Evo. He’d die at this rate!

A shrill shriek of laughter cut him sharply from his thoughts. He quickly darted behind the tree he’d been leaning on and peaked out nervously. 

Just off the coast of the island, nestled safely within a small clearing, was a giant portal and a cozy looking campsite. 

Grian’s eyes widened in wonder. There was so many people. And they were all so diverse looking! Some of them weren’t even human!

The more humanoid ones were of all ages and genders, and all happily nestled themselves comfortably among cyborgs and hybrids and many more people looking so strange that Grian didn’t even have the words to describe them.

One girl happily carried a bundle of sticks for a guy holding a stone axe. She was completely unfazed by the fact her skin seemed to be rotting from her bones, and he unbothered by the fact that he seemed to be made entirely of some kind of blue bioluminescent slime. They trotted over to a big campfire in the middle of a few roughly put together houses and deposited their bundle just to the side of the flames. 

The zombie looking girl made a comedic show of saluting a man in some kind of full facial mask before bursting out into laughter. The rest of the people around them seem to chuckle at her antics as well. A man in some kind of Indiana Jones style outfit struggled to keep his laughing contained and the cat on his lap content at the same time. Another guy in what seems to be full plated knight armour, helped to keep the cat placated by removing the red feather from on top his helmet and waving it in front of her a few times to keep her occupied. 

Grian can see the campsite itself is temporary. The houses are made out of hastily thrown together wooden planks and bits of bark. In some of them there are pieces of dirt, he certainly hopes that’s ironic. There’s crafting benches and furnaces clustered in random spots and he can see the beginnings of some kind of a mine being built just a few yards away from the nearest tent. 

It’s slowly getting to dusk and the first rays of the golden hour begin to cast across the tips of the site. Grian certainly doesn’t want to be standing alone in the forest when it gets to night but he’s rooted to the spot. He’s not sure what it is that’s keeping him from heading down there and introducing himself. Maybe it’s the fact that everything seems so perfect. The Hermits seem so happy together in their own little community, he’s almost afraid that by meeting them he’ll taint it. 

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all…

He’s almost halfway turned around before a sharp yell makes him flinch. 

“For Sparta!!” The voice was heavily accented with something he can’t place but it sounds offensive yet somehow playful.

Something collides with his arm which startles him into losing his balance. He’s about to go tumbling over the side of the hill and suddenly he’s gasping for anything to help him stay up top here. It’s Grian’s particular brand of bad luck that jinxes the thing he grips to be just as uncoordinated and unbalanced as he currently is. 

Grian’s eyes catch sight of a glowing cybernetic something or other on someone’s face before both he and whoever this tech belongs to both go crashing down the side of this sloped cliff.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

Somehow, being pushed down the side of a sharp cliff was turning out to be the best thing to ever happen to Grian. 

Sure he had to deal with the stinging scrapes along his unprotected skin, and the strange hovering hearts (or lack of) making themselves present just above his head, but the upside was that he now had a stomach full of fire baked fish and ears full of Iskall’s many embarrassed apologises. 

Iskall, as it turned out, was the one to push him. Not intentionally per say. Apparently he hadn’t wanted to launch them both off the cliff, but rather startle him into a friendly fright. He hadn’t expected Grian to be so jumpy and it was just unfortunate that they both sported matching injuries because of it. 

Grian was learning that Iskall was a strange guy. In a nice, friendly kind of way, but still pretty strange. The watcher was dying to ask about the strange cybernetic eye implant but felt it would be rude at this point in their friendship to pose the question. It was this star-like mechanism that fitted straight into the others skull. Made of what looked to be delicately cut iron and gold, and all of it painted an electric blue. Right in the center was a beautifully polished diamond that had a movable cover over the top of it. It was programmed to blink in time with Iskall’s organic eye, making the robotics seem alive.

The rest of the Hermits at the camp seemed to follow Iskall’s same sense of strange friendliness. Grian was beginning to think that maybe he had just spent so much time alone that his view on other people had changed but right now he didn’t really care. Just talking to new people was like a dream come true. 

He was even beginning to learn names! The zombie girl was Cleo and the blue slime guy he had seen her with was Jevin. The guy in the explorer's outfit was Scar and the cat on his knee was called Jellie. Shredded and looking very sad within her paws, was the red feather she had been teased with before. Wels, it’s previous owner, sighed at his loss. 

Iskall explained to him that there was more due to arrive through the portal soon as well. And some others were already off exploring the world. He would meet them in time. They didn’t want to overcrowd him and scare him off anyway. 

Grian felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Xisuma.  
His face was hidden behind a thick full facial mask which the young watcher wasn’t expecting, but with how strange every other hermit seemed to be he should have figured he’d have something like this anyway. 

The other smiled. Grian could tell with how his eyes crinkled behind the visor. He seemed tired from the move but still wanted to stay up and awake until the rest of the Hermits were confirmed to be safe. 

“Hey, how’re you feeling?” Xisuma’s voice was distorted a little behind the mask but Grian could still hear it well enough.

“A little sore.” Grian admitted with a shrug, chucking a little to himself when he heard Iskall whine out a “I said I was sorry…” upon hearing him, “I’m glad I made it though.”

Xisuma laughed, “I’m glad you made it too! It’s going to be great having you here. We’re all really excited for you to join us. It’s not everyday that we get to play with someone new.” He dug his hand around in his pocket before finally pulling out a stopped bottle with a light purple liquid trapped inside. “You should probably drink this now that you’ve had something to eat.”

“What is it?” Grian asked, taking the small bottle. It was only just about the size of his hand. 

“It’s a healing potion. We used to brew them in the previous world and we’ll be doing it again in this one. Now, I know it doesn’t taste that great but it should get rid of all your scrapes and stuff so that you’re not still aching by the time we all part ways to make our bases.”

Grian uncorked the bottle and held it to his nose to see what it smelt like. The liquid had a strange burnt bitterness to it that made him hesitate. Xisuma wouldn’t do anything to try and trick him right? No, surely not. Xisuma had no reason to do anything like that. Grian quickly shook away his doubt and put the rim of the glass to his lips.

The potion burned all the way down his throat and made his eyes water like he was about to cry but the second it was in his stomach he felt how his scrapes and cuts seemed to fade away into nothing. It was as if they were never there to begin with. 

“That’s amazing.” He gasped in wonder.

“You’ve really never seen them before?” Xisuma asked.

“No we never had anything like this in - uh my old world.” Grian caught himself before he said too much. Xisuma didn’t need to know that the last world he’d really been apart of was several updates ago. There would be a lot of gaps in his general knowledge and Grian was planning on keeping them secret for as long as possible.

Xisuma made a quite pondering noise before continuing, “well potions and other more complicated things will probably be in shortage for a while. At least until we can get set up better anyway. Early seasons are pretty slow at first for stuff like this. We bring as much as we can from the old worlds but the plan is always to get everyone settled in their own bases from pretty much day one.”

Grian nodded, “so everyone stays on their own most of the time in their own space?” He couldn’t say that he wasn’t a little disappointed.

“No, not really. Well maybe a little in the past. But this time we have a plan for something new. I didn’t show you the world map did I? Hang on a moment.” With that Xisuma hurried away to dig through one of the many chests littered about the camp site. He came back soon after opening the third with a large rolled up piece of paper. The admin gestured for Grian to come over while he spread the thing out onto the top of a crafting table. 

Looking over Xisuma’s shoulder Grian could see a detailed depiction of a large island. 

“So this is the world map. Or actually just the map of the Island we’re going to be using.” Xisuma said, “We’ve all decided to arrange our bases within this general area so that we interact with one another a bit more than previous seasons. Now you can’t just go building whatever you want wherever, or technically you can, but it’s a polite idea to stick to the general plan as much as you can. You see we’re splitting this large main island into sections where the build styles will vary.” Xisuma paused for a moment to pull out a quill and a few vials of brightly coloured ink.

Grian watched as Xisuma carefully split the island into sections with the ink, labelling each one as he went along.

“Okay so, we have the fantasy realm up here,” he gestures to the upper parts of the island, “there’s aqua town just below that, and pirate land next to that as well. Then we have the futuristic district, the modern section and the medieval section next to that. Then finally we have the industrial section over here to the left. And this big space just under pirate land is going to be the shopping district. The shopping district is the only section on the island free from any kind of themes. If you have a product that you want to sell then you can make a shop here to sell it. Our main currency is diamonds so take from that what you will.” Here Xisuma paused to give Grian time for the information to go in. “Does anything catch your eye?”

Grian hummed thoughtfully. 

Back in Evo he’d built both Atlantis as his first base and eventually developed the Grian Empire from there. He didn’t fancy working with water again or at least not too much, he wasn’t sure how much the newer updates had affected water physics and he really didn’t like the thought of going to all the trouble of resource gathering only to realise his knowledge was seriously dated. 

Still though with how much oceans and the life inside of them had changed, it was hard not to be tempted by the natural beauty of it all. So maybe something near or on the water but not underneath it? That ruled out aqua town.

He was most comfortable with fantastical designs or designs from the past. Doing research on ancient architecture was always interesting and helped him to create new concepts. But if he was only going to be here for a week then it would probably be best to challenge himself, give him something to be proud of at the end. 

“Do…. um…. do you think I could set up here?” Grian pointed down to an ocean heavy space just off the coast of the Futuristic district. 

“The futuristic district? I don’t see why not. I think Biffa is setting up on the coastal area here and Mumbo has already requested these few islands over here but if you’re planning to make something in the ocean then I think it should be fine.” Xisuma said. He dipped his quill in red ink and noted down where Grian had pointed to. 

“We’re still waiting on Mumbo to get here but he’s really nice and I can imagine him being a good first neighbour for you. He’s a redstone engineer though, so if his farms get too loud or start making the world around you act strange or stuttery tell him to shut them off or to do one at a time. He’s got a habit of napping while his machines are running and lagging my system.” Xisuma joked.

Right, redstone was a thing. Grian had been around for the beginning of redstone and always remembered it being a bit temperamental. He wondered just how far it had improved since then, it would be so irritating to have to spin minecarts in rapid succession again but he’d do it if he had to.

“So I’d say you’re all set. We’re going to camp here tonight to give the rest of the Hermits a chance to get here, but once that portal is destroyed in the morning the season will begin. I’m glad you made it Grian, I can already tell something is different this time around and I think it’s going to be good!” Xisuma gently patted Grian on the shoulder, unaware to the panic he had just brought the young watcher. 

He gently rolled up the island map before heading off, leaving Grian to dwell in his anxiety.

_to be continued..._

**Author's Note:**

> Brand new fan art by @pinetree_palettes on Instagram!


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